1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to well bore tools and in particular to apparatus and methods for estimating properties of downhole fluids.
2. Description of the Related Art
Oil and gas wells have been drilled at depths ranging from a few thousand feet to as deep as five miles. A large portion of the current drilling activity involves directional drilling that includes drilling boreholes deviated from vertical by a few degrees up to horizontal to increase the hydrocarbon production from earth subterranean formations.
Information about the subterranean formations traversed by the borehole may be obtained by any number of techniques. Some techniques used to obtain formation information include obtaining one or more core samples of the subterranean formations and obtaining one or more fluid samples produced from the subterranean formations. These samplings are collectively referred to herein as formation sampling. Modern fluid sampling includes various downhole tests and sometimes fluid samples are retrieved for surface laboratory testing. However, the high costs associated with oil and gas exploration create a great bias toward improved methods and apparatus for downhole testing.
Thus, what are needed are improved methods and apparatus for downhole testing of fluids. Preferably, the methods and apparatus provide users with capabilities to rapidly identify constituents of a fluid sample.